Help Me Pick A Car - Citroen C3 Died & Need A Replacement

[MintBiscuit65]

Hi there, I'm looking for some help! My Citreon C3 completely died on me. It was 7 years old (we'd only owned it for 3), and less than 50K miles on the clock, but the engine totally failed (despite being regularly serviced and looked after) and I will never buy a Citreon again. Apparently they are prone to misfiring, which mine did and it blew the whole engine... The repair cost was wild so we had to salvage it.

We're trying to find a new secondhand car (budget around 13K) but feeling really lost. Here's what we're looking for:

• Something ever so slightly larger than the C3 but no so massive that I feel like I'm driving a tank.
• Something that fits two teenage kids and a tall DH (6'2)
• Decent sized boot
• Cheap to run - fuel efficiency wise
• Cheap to insure
• Something that's relatively nippy on the motorway - I had a Renault Twingo before the C3, which I loved but didn't have enough power to overtake.
• Reverse camera
• Reliable - we want to keep this car for a long time
• Not electric - I'd love an EV but we don't have a driveway so can't install a charger and there aren't many charge points where we live, so right now it wouldn't be very practical for us.

If anyone has any recommendations I'd gladly take them!

How about something like a skoda octavia?

Whatcar had them very high up in the reliability rankings (for the 2013-2020 models).

The 1.6 diesel is a 15e insurance group (fairly low) 0-60 in 10 seconds (nippy, if not fast) and is apparently good for 55mpg, if they're to be believed.

For example: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405179832791?sort=mileage&twcs=true&searchId=5dc02d25-721e-4df9-8b6e-9dc499b3621d&advertising-location=at_cars&make=Skoda&model=Octavia&postcode=tn221qg&price-to=13000&fromsra

I'm also a perrenial fan of the Honda Civic, and Mazda threes!

MY two pennth only, obviously.

Thank you, hadn't thought about the Skoda Octavia, off to have a look!

An Octavia is a great car but a fair bit longer than the c3, I used to have a C4, engine did the same thing with 50k on the clock!
My mum has a vauxhall mokka which is basically a lifted astra seems reliable and cheap to insure etc, if you want leg room for tall people though you'll need a bigger car. Quashqais , Kadjars etc are decent value for money and a bit roomier. I love the Tiguan but they are expensive. A colleague has had nothing but problems with two successive MG ZS' , apparently they are nothing to do with original MG someone just bought the name.
I used to love nippy tiny cars but with DC and a 6'4 DH they are a thing of the past for me

Thank you, I did spot a Mokka today when I was out on a walk that looked quite nice. That's great to hear your mum loves it - that's firmly on my list of cars to look at the dealers at the weekend! I also saw a Juke that looked fun and not too much bigger than my C3. I hear you on the bigger cars, but I've got zero experience driving anything that size and it feels so daunting!

The Renault captur is similar size to the mokka they are just family cars higher up (which I find easier for parking) I test drove a Hyundai Tucson and it was massive!